Chicken, Lemon and Dill with Orzo...

We prepared a dinner recently that was pretty much hands off, leaving the oven to do most of the work. Well, there was a little prep work before hand, but this Chicken, Lemon and Dill with Orzo dish would be great for those nights where you need to get dinner on the table, but can't afford the extra time to tend to it.

Mixed in the same baking vessel the meal was going to cook in, a combination of chunky chicken breasts (no, they are not cooked first!) and dry, uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta) was tossed with copious amounts of crumbled feta, dill, fresh lemon juice and zest. Liquid is needed to bring those ingredients together and give the pasta a zesty pool to absorb, but instead of just using water, a seasoned union of chicken broth, water and a pat of butter was added. However, to give the dish a jump start, the mixture was brought to a rapid bubble first, then stirred into the dish.

All that was needed was to then pop the casserole into the oven (you don't even need to cover it) and leave it be until the chicken had a chance to cook through and the pasta became tender. I wondered if the pasta would become a mushy mess as it took about forty minutes to bake, but we found that was simply not the case! The orzo plumped up nicely, taking in most of the cooking liquid, but it also left some behind that ended up becoming a creamy "sauce" that kept the casserole moist.

As soon as it was ready, the dish was taken out from the oven and sprinkled with a smattering of fresh grated Parmesan cheese, letting the residual heat melt the nutty shreds. Serving six hearty portions, I was anxious to dig my fork in and see just how those ingredients married together. Jeff and I were initially concerned that the amount of crumbled feta might come across a bit too strong in the finished result, but as it melted into the dish, it seemed to settle into a delightfully salty groove with a subtle tangy bite. We loved how the use of lemon turned into a brilliant shot of lightness that cut through the richness of the cheese and pasta. The leftovers reheat well the next day, though the pasta was a bit softer - neither of us minded though! I'm betting this would make a solid vegetarian baked pasta dish too, leaving the chicken meat out and swapping the chicken broth for vegetable.

Recipes
Chicken, Lemon and Dill with Orzo